Wall Street Journal drops the hammer on 'embarrassing' GOP for allowing Trump to undermine the election

In a scorching opinion piece from the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board, the editors came down hard on the Republican leadership for allowing Donald Trump to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election, saying they have embarrassed themselves.

With the GOP leadership allowing Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) to go forward with his plan to contest the election results when the Senate meets on January 6th to unseal the Electoral College votes -- the Journal editors charged that the Republicans are wasting valuable time as the country reels from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"How could lawmakers justify throwing out electors for Mr. Biden? Although Mr. Trump keeps tweeting claims of massive vote fraud, his lawsuits have been rejected in court, sometimes by his own conservative appointees," the editors wrote. "Any challenge to Mr. Biden's electors appears doomed, since upholding the objection takes a majority in both chambers. The Democratic House would use the opportunity to excoriate Mr. Trump a final time on his way out the door, and grown-ups in the Republican Senate are unlikely to play along."

Noting that Republicans would have shot down a similar attempt if Trump had won and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) tried to deny the president a second term, the Journal editors bluntly stated that Republican lawmakers -- with a few exceptions -- are making fools of themselves in a way that may come back to haunt them.

"Republicans should be embarrassed by Mr. Trump's Electoral College hustle. Mr. Trump is putting his loyal VP in a terrible spot, and what do Republicans think would happen if Mr. Pence pulled the trigger, Mr. Biden was denied 270 electoral votes, and the House chose Mr. Trump as President? Riots in the streets would be the least of it," they wrote, adding that they hoped the more level-headed Pence would do the right thing.

"Mr. Pence is too much of a patriot to go along, but the scramble to overturn the will of the voters tarnishes Mr. Trump's legacy and undermines any designs he has on running in 2024," they wrote, before concluding, "Republicans who humor him will be giving Democrats license to do the same in the future, and then it might matter."

You can read the whole editorial here (subscription required)